
PS 2197 
.L7 
Copy 1 



,^ 



^ 



\^ 




^vX 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. #1 

Ifmp 



igjrigW |Io. 

^/^f ...ki ii 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.! 



Lotos Land, 



AND OTHER 



POEMS 



a. S. L^DSON. 



Beyond the poet's sweet dream lies 
The eternal epic of the man. 
He wisest is who only gives, 
True to himself, the best he can ; 
Who drifting in the winds of praise, 
The inward monitor obeys ; 
And, with the boldness that confesses fear 
Takes in the crowded sail, and lets his conscience steer." 

Whittier. 



*»" ^•'^^«: 






CINCINNATI: \\'^/^^ ^* ? 

Peter G. Thomson, 179 Vine StreetS 

1877. 






■ oY 



^RlGHr 



O. S. LADSON, 



1877. 



INSCRIBED TO HIS FRIENDS 

Betsy" and " Wandering Jew," 
By The Author, 



PREFACE. 



The Author is not aware of the existence of any 
poem of similar title to that after which this volume is 
named, excepting the exquisite literary production by 
Tennyson, entitled "The Lotos Eaters." It has 
not been the intention in Lotos Land, to attempt any- 
thing similar to the before mentioned poem ; for the suffi- 
cient reason, if for no other, that it is not possible so to 
do. None but the Laureate can write as the Laureate 
writes. To illustrate : — 

" AH round the coast the languiij air did swoon, 
Breathing like one that hath a weary dream. 

Full-faced above the valley stood the moon, 

And like a downward smoke, the slender stream 

Along the cliflF to fall and pause and fall did seem. 

"■■ ■-:■• •-:■• =:= -'■- <• and if his fellow spake, 
His voice was thin, as voices from the grave ; 

And deep-asleep he seem'd, yet all awake. 

And music in his ears his beating heart did make." 

" TIic Lotos Eaters." 



VI PREFACE. 

In reference to the remainder of what is here pre- 
sented, it may be said that much of it was written 
without any great expectation that it w^ould ever appear 
in book form ; and as much as a means of solace, as 
for any other purpose. The Author offers no apology, 
although regretting that some of it presents such an ap- 
pearance as it does. He Avishes also, here to gratefully 
thank those of his friends who have in this, looked kindly 
on him, and in more waj's than one, been a help to him. 

August 27///, 1S77. G. S. L. 

Brookville, Ind. 



CONTENTS 



Lotos Land, i 

Dream Land, 15 

The Unseen Land, 23 

Fairy Land, 30 

Amorosities : 

I Love, 35 

In the Spring Time, .... 37 

Love, 40 

An Amorosity, 44 

An Humorosity, . . . - . . . 45 

To Poesy, 4S 

A Song of Life, 55 

Life, 61 

A Vision of Sin, 65 

Reverie, 95 



LOTOS LAND, 



LOTOS LAND. 

A MELODY, a melody, ' . 

I hear upon the air. 
It tells me of another clime, 

A country otherwhere ; 
In far, far-distant sunny seas, 

Beneath the hazy skies. 
Where fleeting shades the vison please, 

In shimmering light it lies. 
I yield my spirit to its power, 

Enwrapt it is within the spell; 
As sighs the breeze in woodland bower. 

So do the dewy numbers swell. 



LOTOS LAND. 

And overcoming all my sense, 

Another atmosphere 
Seems gathering round me, as the tale 

Is whispered in mine ear. 
Of that far-distant, wondrous shore. 

Where all is dimly real; 
And coursing slowly through the veins, 

The flood of life does steal; 
And ever seems a sound, as of a voice 

Of music in the air; 
That lulls to calm profound the senses, 

In a spell that knows not care. 

And in that land, all — all the past 
Sleeps in forgetfulness ; 

All that in life was ever known. 
Is lost in nothingness ; 



LOTOS LAND. 5 

Oblivious — oblivious, 

A sweetly slumberous spell, 
Works ever on the feelings soft, 

With sway that pleases well; 
Till o'er and o'er, from day to day, 

There is a constant, peaceful sense 
Of pleasure, yet maturing in 

A depth of richest calm intense. 

Yet there as here does much appear. 

Though of far milder sort ; 
Life here as there, except that care 

Cuts not its cycles short; 
There, here and there and everywhere. 

The Lotos, blooms and fills, 
Within its cup a constant fount, 

A constant draught distills : 



LOTOS LAND. 

Who drinks of it, forevermore 

Forgetfulness the past doth seal; 
He recks not of the days of yore, 

Knows not his former woe or weal. 

Who drinks of it, no more, no more 

His fiery passion wakes; 
The Lethe draught, if once but quaffed, 

Desire forever slakes ; 
And seems the fllood of life to swell, 

A languid tide and goes 
Throughout himself; and pulsing soft, 

It flows, and ebbs, and flows ; 
And strange, so strange, so passing strange 

Thenceforth, is each sweet influence; 
The life within, to all without, 

Flows on in so rich consonance. 



LOTOS LAND. \ 

So languid ! Oh so languidly ! 

The fragrant breezes blow, 
That scarce they sway the Lotos flower 

Its pollen dust to strow. 
So drowsy are the varied sounds, 

Upon the atmosphere ; 
So drowsy each respective tone 

That falls upon the ear; 
And all commingle in a sound, 

A voice of music in the air, 
That lulls to calm profound the senses, 

In a spell that knows not care. 

There, suns subdued shine with a softened 
Radiance through the day; 

There, night is wooed by loveHer moons 
That hold effulgent sway; 



LOTOS LAND. 

There, they who drink the Lotos draught 

Dream listless life away, 
Nor care, nor fore-thought give, nor toil, 

While life's sweet forces play; 
The dim-faced sun doth shine by day; 

The misty moon by night doth shed 
A thousand glimmerings every way. 

Upon the vapors round her spread. 

Who enters that enchanted land. 

Laved by the rocking seas, 
With shores that slight-inclining, meet 

The wave and odorous breeze ; 
Of Lotos sips, so fabled wide 

In many a song and tale, 
That there grows on the hill and plain. 

In every winding vale; 



LOTOS LAND. 9 

Then to him seems a sound, as of 

A voice of music in the air, 

That lulls to calm profound, the senses, 
In a spell that knows not care. 

The natives of that drowsy land. 

Live on in happy dreams. 
The day goes by in hazy light. 

That to the senses seems. 
As though 't were but a brighter aspect 

Of the 'chanted night; 
Which seems in turn a softened shadowy form 

Of day in flight. 
And e'er there seems a sound, as of 

A voice of music in the air; 
That lulls to calm profound, the senses 

In a spell that knows not care. 



lO LOTOS LAND. 

Yes, voices there are heard upon 

The air, and on the lea ; 
And voices there come forth from out 

The deep, blue rocking sea ; 
And voices there soft speak, it seems, 

From every shrub, and tree ; 
And voices there sound from the dancing 

Night-winds soft and free. 
That blend in one sweet sound, that seems 

A voice of music in the air; 
And lull to calm profound, the senses 

In a spell that knows not care. 

Fantastic seem the shapes that play 
At eve along the lawn. 

Far stretching to the distant sky; 
And then again at dawn 



LOTOS LAND. I 

The shadows flee far 'way, and hide 

Among the vales and hills; 
At eve return, and bring a strange 

Bewitching charm that fills 
The ear as with a sound that seems 

A voice of music in the air; 
And lulls to calm profound, the senses, 

In a spell that knows not care. 

A land of dim realities, 

Where all things seem ?/;/real; 
A land where all known feelings strange, 

That scarce they know they feel 
A land where all see phantoms strange, 

That scarce they seen to see; 
A land where shadows ever fly. 

Yet scarcely seem to flee; 



LOTOS LAND. 

And evermore a sound, as of 

A voice of music in the air, 

That lulls to calm profound the senses, 
In a spell that knows not care. 

A land where all hear voices sweet, 

That yet they scarce do hear; 
A land where nothing distant is, 

While nothing seemeth near ; 
A land whose waves break on its shores, 

And scarcely seem to break ; 
Where waking all the live-long day. 

They scarce do know they wake ; 
And ever is a sound, that seems 

A voice of music in the air. 
That lulls to calm profound the senses. 

In a spell that knows not care. 



LOTOS LAND. 13 

And dreaming all the live-long night, 

They scarcely seem to dream; 
Where all things are of substance made, 

Yet all things shadow seem ; 
And nights seem bright almost as days, 

And days seem dim as nights ; 
Where blent in one strange blending there, 

All things are strange delights, 
Through all of which a sound, that seems 

A voice of music in the air. 
That lulls to calm profound, the senses, 

In a spell that knows not care. 

For there all live, as though they dreamed 
Their seeming life away ; 

Nor care nor fore-thought give, nor toil. 
While life's sweet forces play; 



14 LOTOS LAND. 

While suns subdued, shine with a softened 

Radiance through the day, 
And night is wooed by loveher moons, 

That hold reluctant sway; 
And evermore there seems a sound, as of 

A voice of music in the air, 
That lulls to calm profound, the senses, 

In a spell that knows not care. 




DREAM LAND, 



DREAM-LAND. 

"1\ /r Y spirit wandered, wandered, 

It wandered in surprise ; 
Through somewhere it meandered, 
Where being takes its rise. 

And also where a changing, 

Sometime the being knows ; 

And here its way, it ranging. 

Strange sights and sounds arose. 

An 't was a sleepy valley, 

Where Dream-land sleepy lies; 
No sun the hours doth tally. 

No moon illumes the skies. 



1 8 DREAM LAND. 

And all around and o'er one, 

A golden atmosphere ; 
That shimmers all before one, 

That glimmers distant, near. 

In that vale are there mountains, 
That rise on either side; 

From which flow forth rich fountains. 
In many a luscious tide. 

They meeting form a river, 
That flows as if at rest; 

A calm mysterious river, 

That flowing, seems at rest. 

Of its own waters drinking, 
No more is spirit vexed. 

Itself it is the linking 

Of this world and the next. 



DREAM LAND. 19 

It floweth on through Dream-land, 
Where things are not as here ; 

Flows through a double head-land, 
The gate to another sphere. 

A rock-ribbed, dreary waste it is, 

A desolate barren shore; 
Where every good effaced it is, 

A bleak and wintry shore. 

It traverseth that region, 

Its shores laps with its waves, 

That wake a legion legion 
Of echos in its caves; 

And there, all dim and misty. 
Who sees but dimly sees. 
Through many a darkened vista, 
Long Avenues, and these 



20 DREAM LAND. 

Are in the mountain fastnesses, 

Are dim, and drear, and dread ; 

Are fearful, awful vastnesses, 
Where spirit rites are said. 

Woe, woe, 'tis said, who ventures, 
O'er this forbidden ground; 

For here are heard fierce censures, 
That do the feeHng wound. 

For here, an evil spirit 

Inhabiteth each cave, 
From whence it fierce doth leer at. 

And moan, and shriek, and rave ; 

And mocketh at the echo, 

That in the cave it makes; 

Respondeth to the echo, 

That in the cave it wakes. 



DREAM LAND. 

Throughout this gloomy region, 
There all around is heard, 

As it were many a legion, 

In fierce commotion stirred, 

Of voices wildly calling. 

To him who passeth by ; 

And shriekings loud, appalling, 
In wild demoniac cry. 

Here every sense is taunted. 
With signals of distress ; 

And every cave is haunted, 
And mountain fasteness. 

Here, here doth desolation, 
Reign in primeval state 

That knoweth not cessation ; 

Each sound in pain doth grate 



DREAM LAND. 

Upon the tortured hearing; 

No prospect pleasing seems; 
While felt is a strange fearing, 

And lightnings flash in gleams. 

That call forth harshest thunder, 
From out the maddened air; 

While round about, and under, 
Above, and everywhere, 

The dismal prospect riven, 
Doth horrify the sight. 

To desolation given, 

And deep, primeval night. 




THE UNSEEN LAND, 



THE UNSEEN LAND. 

T T T' E tread upon the borders 

Of a land unknown, unseen 
Ourselves between two entities, 
Form a connecting mean. 

Below us is material, 

Above, the spirit kind; 
Our being in the body 

Dual is, by power of mind. 

'Tis in the upjDer being. 
The spirit strives to range ; 

It strives to soar to something 
Above, and new, and strange. 



26 THE UNSEEN LAND. 

It knows there is existence, 

Of a far nobler sort ; 
And longs to look within it, 

To from its realm extort 

The secret that it knoweth, 
That not to human eyes 

It ever, ever showeth ; 
That still within it lies. 

But though it cannot fathom 
The depth of the Unseen, 

Or* know its hidden being, 
The spirit can, I ween. 

In hours of meditation, 

Lose thought of earth and time; 
Can hover neath the hidden. 

And know of things sublime; 



THE UNSEEN LAND. 27 

Can almost pierce the veiling, 

The spirit realm doth hide, 
And find its hidden portal; 

And know itself beside. 

Its other kindred spirits 

That are not clogged with flesh; 
But range in boundless freedom, 

And life forever fresh. 

The soul strives after freedom ; 

And like a bird when caged, 
Though thousand efforts fail it, 

A thousand times hath raged 

In fruitless trial, and trouble, 

To break its prison wires, 
Yet still it strives for freedom : 

So in the heart, the fires 



28 . THE UNSEEN LAND. 

Of longing, hoping, wishing, 
For supernatural state, 

Will burn with ardor quenchless, 
Will burn, and not abate. 

And there are times when almost 
Revealed, is the unseen ; 

And blending lights and shadows, 
Are thrown upon the screen : 

And through a shadowy dimness, 
The eye of mind to see 

Strives still, to more discover, 
Of hidded entity. 

Yes, there are times when almost 
Revealed, is the unknown; 

And lights and shadows blending. 
Upon the screen are thrown ; 



THE UNSEEN LAND. 

We see a shadowy something, 
Before the spirit dance ; 

See not with sensual vision, 
See not with bodily glance ; 

We strive to look still further. 
But here the powers fail : 

Again we know but darkness : 
We cannot pierce the veil. 







y^cjJtJj 



FAIRY LAND. 

^ TRAINS of music far and near, 

Quivering on the atmosphere, 
Lull into a calm intense, 
Every charm encircled sense. 

Mingling in exquisite measure, 
Bringing an ecstatic pleasure, 
Softest strains together blending, 
From around, above, descending, 
Fall upon the ravished ear. 
Fall from out the atmosj^here. 



FAIRY LAND. 3 1 

Mingled lights and shadows dance, 
Before the vision flit and glance; 
Flitting, glancing, far and nigh. 
Pleasing to the wondering eye. 

Odors on the balmy breeze, 
Drifting from the spicy seas, 
Rich in perfumes most refined, 
Rich in all their sweets combined, 
Work a sense of calm profound, 
In all who know the chanted ground. 

Mingling in one common feature, 
Pleasing to the wondering creature. 
All the senses acting, blend. 
Every feeling to transcend. 



32 



FAIRY LAND. 



Softening to a magic spell, 

Such as words can never tell, 

Doth one's sense intoxicate, 

In one bliss without abate ; 

All one rapture of delights. 

Ever, through the days and nights. 




AMOROSITIES. 



I LOVE. 

T LOVE to watch the shadows, 
At the coming of the night, 

And round the dim horizon, 

See the darkness chase the Hght. 

I love to stroll at leisure, 

'Neath the pale moon, sweet and fair, 
And hear the varied measure, 

Of a song breathed on the air. 

I love by observation. 

Of the spangled sky at night. 
To trace each constellation, 

Draped in lineaments of light. 



36 I LOVE. 

I love to study nature, 

In her varied form and phase; 
To note her every feature, 

And sing her every praise. 

I love to know a fair one, 

As she's to no other known; 

Receive her pure affection, 

And to know she is my own. 

I love to flirt and fritter. 

Half my happy life away, 

As swallows in the sun-light twitter, 
All the live-long summer day. 

I love to scribble nonsense, 

As the winged minutes fly; 

And arrest my vagrant fancies. 
Ere they fade away and die. 



IN THE SPRING-TIME. 

T N the spring-time, in the spring-time, 

When the days are glad and bright, 
And the warm reviving sun-shine, 

Calls forth flowers to greet the light; 
The wild-bird in the wood then singing, 

Happy, happy, to his mate; 
All things into life then springing, 

We'll with happiness be sate. 

We will wander, we Avill wander. 

Hand in hand and side by side. 
In the path-ways that meander, 

• Through the meadows large and wide; 



38 IN THE SPRING-TIME. 

Through the leafy, leafy wood-land, 
Listening to the wild-bird's song; 

Listening to sweet nature's music, 
Happy as the day is long. 

Or when shining, softly shining, 

Gilds the moon-light grove and hall.. 
Showing dim the distant lining, 

Of the shadowy mountain wall ; 
Showing there its rocky border, 

High uprearing 'gainst the skies, 
Where, in fantasy's disorder. 

Do the evening shadows rise : 

We will straying, slowly straying, 
See the beauties of the night; 

See the moon-beams noiseless playing. 
See the shadows in their i\\Q,ht :. 



IN THE SPRING-TIME. 



39 



While the loveUness surrounding, 
Makes Hfe happy, and our lot, 

In each other's love abounding. 

Of all the earth the dearest spot. 

More than life to each the other, 

We will live as do the birds; 
Purer love than knows a mother 

Will be ours, nor spoke in words; 
But in glances only spoken, 

Spoken thus from eye to eye; 
We will want no other token, 

In that blissful bye and bye. 




LOVE. 

/^^F all, Love is the feature fair, 
That hath survived the fall; 
The only form in which we wear 
His grace, who made us all. 

Our parents sinned; and sinning, fell 

From that blest first estate ; 
Yet in their hearts was left to tell 

Of their high source, create ; 

And Love, the Prince of each sweet grace, 

Key-stone of virtues pure, 
Reflected back Almighty's face, 

And was itself a cure, 



LOVE. 41 

To some extent for loss so great; 

For Eden once enjoyed ; 
For all their blessed first estate, 

For all that sin destroyed. 

And if we love, in that one way 

We are like God indeed; 
Then in the heart let love hold sway, 

The passions on it feed. 

This world is full of beauties rare, 

Our love to win and hold, 
If we but exercise due care, 

From dross to choose the gold. 

Then chide me not, for love I must, 
Each form that seems me fair; 

The heart is made to love e'en dust. 
If beauteous form it wear. 



42 __ LOVE. 

And I know love untaint with lust, 
For one so dear and pure; 

Who to my own fond self will trust, 
In happiness secure. 

And in my love my raptured heart, 
Grows each day in sweet power ; 

As daily do fresh fountains start. 
To bless my cherished flower. 

I would pour forth my love in song, 

But song can not express 
How deep it is ; how pure and strong 

The love, my life doth bless. 

Then let me love, for love I must ; 

My love I know is true ; 
My love is tainted not with rust, 

'Tis ever green and new. 



LOVE. 



43 



Then let me love, for love I must 
This object of sweet care; 

My heart is made to love e'en dust, 
If beauteous form it wear. 

My love is right, my love is just, 
Where cause for love is shown ; 

My love untaint it is with lust, 
And to full ripeness grown. 




AN AMOROSITY. 

T KNOW a girl 

With teeth of pearl, 
And eyes of lustrous hue ; 
And know full well, 
To whom they tell. 
Of love both pure and true. 

I know a lass, 
Whose locks en masse. 
Adorn a queenly face ; 



Whose waving hair, 



In tresses fair. 
Displays angelic grace. 



AN HUMOROSITY. 45 

I know a belle, 

And I could tell, 
Her graces o'er and o'er ; 

But will not try, 

For Oh ! my eye 
Ne'er saw such grace before. 

I know her name. 

Could tell the same 
To you, my friendly quiz ; 

But I'll be hung, 

To old or young 
If I say who she is. 

AN HUMOROSITY. 

"A ND I know more, 
Than when before, 
I wrote those lines above ; 



46 AN HUMOROSITY. 

Though I know less 
Of happiness, 
As fruit of that same love. 

That girl, — Alas ! 

One eye is glass, 
And one can see the light. 

Those teeth, — Ah me! 

Are false like she, 
Although they 're pearly white. 

Those locks, — Alas! 

That fall en masse 
Around that queenly face, 

Are not her hair, 

For that is bare 
If they but lose their place. 



AN HUMOROSITY. 



47 



Ah me! That belle, — 

Emotions swell 
When I think of her more 

So false in heart, 

And every part, 
I can but weep full sore. 







4sf 



I 



TO POESY. 



N rambling irregular 



rhyme and time, 

In musical numbers that 
chime and climb, 

In rythmical gladness o'er moun- 
tains of song, 

In joy would my glad harp 
now thrilling along. 

Rise ever in harmony sweeter, 

completer ; 
And rich too in fabulous meter, 

repleter ; 



TO POESY. 49 

With all of the melodies trilling, 
and filling 

The soul of the hearer, with raptur- 
ous thrilling. 

Forgetting the world and its bubbles^ 
and troubles; 

Its poor paying harvest that yields 

naught but stubbles; 
Forgetting this Hfe with its moils, 

and its toils. 
And all that is known of its foils 

and its coils ; 

Till all through the senses the num- 
bers resounding, 

Creating a pleasure at wonders 
astounding, 

5 



50 TO POESY. 

The hearer m listening his spirit 
entrancing, 

And all through his members glad ech- 
oes are dancing : 

Such, such are the charms that sweet 

Poesy knows. 
As forth from its source glad 

melody flows, 
Enrapturing the ear with the 

sweetest of strains, 
As fall on the verdure the 

dewiest rains. 

Who would not, who would not, all 

lost in her charms, 
All else then forgetting, repose 

in her arms ! 



TO POESY. 51 

Unconscious, except to the joy 

so mysterious, 
Envelops the soul in a spell 

so delirious. 

And surrounding the spirit her 
melody breaking, 

While throughout the members its 
harmony taking. 

And while e'en the spirit is sleep- 
ing, yet waking; 

And out of pure sens' tiveness weep- 
ing, yet taking 

A balm from the muse, whose harp . 

singing, and ringing, 
Soars higher and still higher in its 

tremulous winging. 



52 TO POESY. 

Till lost in the romance of streams 

on the planes, 
Of the ether that floats, where there 

waxes and wanes, 

In essence of harmony, bil- 
lows of sound, 

That break and reform in their 
limitless bound, 

In that shoreless ocean where are 
never ceasing. 

Above the dull senses and ever 
increasing, 

The chimes in relations for e're 

interchanging, 
O'er and o'er the glad scale forever 

they 're ranging : 



TO POESY. 53 

There Poesy leads, and who fol- 
lows her leading; 

While from all things else is his 
knowledge receding, 

She makes him to love her wild 
rambling, and gambolling. 

Though be it in numbers that 
shambling and ambling. 

Her music is formed out of awk- 
ward material, 

That seems to contain not a whit 
That's aerial; 

Or be it in meter that blundering 

and thundering. 
Sometimes is uniting and sometimes 

is sundering, 



54 TO POESY. 

Its meaning in symphonies strange- 
ly affected, 

Where seemingly discord would 
be disconnected ; 

Or be it in meter that ever 
so sweetly, 

O'ercomes all the feelings with 
rapture completely ; 

Or be her own music in what- 
ever measure, 

It yields, Oh it yields a most 
exquisite pleasure. 




A SONG OF LIFE, 



A SONG OF LIFE. 

(^ LOW are we to learn the meaning 

Of life's lesson, as we should ; 
Slower still to in our gleaning, 
Leave the bad and cull the good. 

Slow are we to learn the reason, 
Why we here know loss and pain; 

Slower still in every season 
So to act, that loss is gain. 

If I know the end of being. 
It is, that we may be brought, 

In ourselves as others seeing, 
To a sphere of nobler thought. 



58 A SONG OF LIFE. 

Gold is better for refining ; 

We are purer for each loss; 
Shows it then a wise designing, 

From our hearts to purge the dross. 

Fruits are nothing till maturing, 
They do full fruition find; 

When, a luscious wealth procuring, 
Each is worthy of its kind. 

We are nothing, unless acting 

For those whom as men, we know; 

If of time we are exacting, 
And to every virtue sow. 

We may then all live for others, 
And not for ourselves alone ; 

All mankind a band of brothers. 
Some will reap, by others sown. 



A SONG OF LIFE. 59 

We are not here for selfiish uses, 

We are here to others bless ; 
And 'tis but by time's abuses, 

That we sink to nothingness. 

If a boat all helpless tosses. 

We can help to save the crew ; 

When another suffers losses, 
We can for him think and do. 

We '11 know how when hearts are riven, 
By the stroke that tries the soul ; 

And to desperation driven, 

Some despair to reach the goal: 

Ere the precious freight was landed, 
Ere the goal was yet acquired ; 

If our hopes were also stranded. 
Ere we gained what we desired ; 



6o A SONG OF LIFE. 

We will know then how to reach them, 
With our sympathy and aid; 

We will know then how to teach them 
Of the gains that loss has made. 

Slow are we to know a blessing, 
When it cometh in disguise; 

Slower still our fault confessing. 

That we could have been more wise. 

Slow are we to learn the lesson, 
Of the present's gain and loss ; 

Slower still to ever press on, 

Bearing still our pain and cross. 




LIFE. 



L, 



JFE, Life, Life,— 
While in this world of sin, 
Must know of pain, and wax and wane, 
Each fond hope born within. 

Life, Life, Life, — 
And its toils, and cares and fears; 
Will soon be past, and set at last 

My sun in the vale of years. 

Cold, Cold, Cold,— 
The vale and the shade of the tomb, 
That lie between the great unseen, 

And the borders of mortal gloom. 



62 LIFE. 

Long, Long, Long,— 
Until time shall be no more ; 
Will the ages roll a funereal toll, 

And break on eternity's shore. 

Roll, Roll, Roll,— 
Li your circling course. Oh Years ! 
And bring about the trumpet shout, 

When the morn of God appears. 

Rest, Rest, Rest,— 
From every distracting thought; 
I there will find, to soul and mind, 

In the world with glory fraught. 

Calm, Calm, Calm, — 
Is the bliss my heart shall lave ; 
Where peace doth flow, and the life-tree grow 

In the world beyond the grave. 



LIFE, 



63 



Joy, Joy, Joy — 

Supernal and endlessly, 
My heart shall fill and my pulses thrill, 
In the land of minstrelsy. 

Life, Life, Life, — 
A high and holy type; 
Will bud and bloom beyond the tomb. 

In full fruition ripe. 

Life, Life, Life, — 
That knows nor griefs nor tears; 
Shall ever increase and never cease, 

Beyond the vale of years. 




A VISION OF SIN. 



A VISION OF SIN. 

T DREAMED a strange, peculiar dream, 

Once in the hours of sleep ; 
All — all that live-long weary night, 

Strange fancies seemed to creep 
About my brain, and shape to take, 

And tangible to be, 
Until as plain as naked day. 

Each form appeared to me. 

The vision passed in many scenes, 

And many days and years. 
Seemed in my dream successively 

To joass, as when appears. 



68 A VISION OF SIN, 

Recurring to one's mind his life. 
When, in few moments' space, 

He Hves again his former years; 
His previous course doth trace. 

Along the path of Hfe once trod, 

Until the present date ; 
And feels again, as if anew, 

Each former love and hate; 
Doth know of all from first to last, 

Be it of great or small; 
Loves o'er again, hates o'er again, 

And realizes all. 

Thus, in one dream, that but one night. 

My slumber did engage, 
I read the story of a life; 

As reading page by page 



A VISION OF SIN. ^ 69 

One from a volume reads a life, 
And lives through days and years, 

With those of whom he reads, and feels 
Himself their hopes and fears. 

So, in my dream each thing to me, 

In its own place appeared, ■ 
As plain as day, and tangible. 

Although 'twas strange and weird; 
For, though all beings like myself. 

So quaint all seemed, and queer, 
I often wondered at the sight 

Before me far and near. 

And all the play enacted was, 

Included in one view 
The morning, noon, and eve of life; 

And all extending through, 



yo A VISION OF SIN» 

Was there a chain of many links. 
Connecting first and last ; 

Connecting all the varied scenes, 
The present, and the past. 

A temple there, vast — vast and high, 

Before me seemed to stand. 
With roof and turrets in the sky, 

Yet built in shifting sand ; 
Ornate it was, and decked within 

With all could charm and please^ 
In any way could gratify. 

Or render selfish ease. 

Inscribed upon its walls I read, 

In characters that told 
It was to pleasure dedicate ; 

Inviting young and old^ 



A VISION OF SIN. 71 

Within its gates to happiness, 

To satisfy desire; 
Avaihng there of all the means 

That to this end conspire. 

I saw those gates of Pleasure ope 

To all who worship there, 
Within her temple, at her shrine, 

Before her altar swear; 
I saw her votaries throng on throng 

In Bacchanalian glee, 
And saw them revel all that night, 

In reckless pleasure free. 

They 'fore me passed in every phase, 

Degree, and state; and there, 
From first to last, and o'er and o'er, 

I studied, and with care, 



72 



A VISION OF SIN. 

The lesson that so deep impressed, 

I never can erase ; 
Nor ever from my memory, 

Its moral can efface. 

And there was every source of joy. 

This world can yield to men ; 
Of reddening wine, or harlot's kiss. 

Or all the eye can ken, 
Or ear can hear, or taste can know, 

Or appetite can sate ; 
In every form, of every kind. 

Vice cast a tempting bait. 

While ever and anon a voice 

Cried to all there within : 
•' Who comes this way, let him beware, 

Behold, and fear to sin." 



A VISION OF SIN. 73 

And looking whence the warning came, 

A door-way opened thence 
Into a place, where Darkness' self 

Could not be more intense. 

There written on an arch above, 

These words were also read; 
"They who in pleasure choose to live, 

E'en while they live are dead; 
The Vale of Woes, the Shades of Death, 

Their path-way terminate. 
Behold, and shun the ways of death. 

With wisdom contemplate. 

What at the first, in innocence. 

May seem for pleasure meet ; 
Ere in its course, from day to day. 

Thou walk'st with ready feet. 



74 A VISION OF SIN. 

The rose may bear a worm within, 

Sin hath a serpent's bite ; 
Its pain may'st thou forever flee, 

In unsuccessful flight. 

The rose doth also bear a thorn, 

Sin hath an adder's sting; 
From it although thou ever fly, 

And on the morning's wing, 
Nor more than from thyself could'st thou 

Escape successfully ; 
Though all the ages evermore. 

Its presence thou should'st flee." 

Yet still was noted not its call ; 

None heeded there within, 
Although the warning voice oft bid 

Them well beware of sin. 



A VISION OF SIN. 75 

Intoxicated with delight, 

They heeded not though heard 

Sometimes, in intervals of glee, 
The oft repeated word. 

I took peculiar note of one, 

Who there had entered in ; 
Who young in years, and strange to fears, 

Was learning fast to sin ; 
So eager from each cup of joy, 

A feverish draught he to took ; 
Nor 'fore a leap in downward course, 

W^ould ever deign to look. 

And others also, fast or slow, 

Did step by step descend ; 
But whether fast they went, or slow, 

At last attained the end 



76 A VISION OF SIN. 

Of what, at first, to each appeared 

A harmless joy, to know ; 
But ended in the Shades of Death, 

The gloomy Vale of Woe. 

Some there went one way down to death, 

Some took another course; 
But each attained to end the same, 

Whence-ever was the source 
He came, or short or long the path 

By which he reached the goal ; 
For Pleasure's own great destiny 

Did each one's steps control. 

I took peculiar note of one. 
Who mingled with the rest; 

Grasped he at every passing joy. 
To every vice was guest ; 



A VISION OF SIN. 77 

Tried he each source of happiness, 

Tasted its every fruit 
Of Pleasure's tree; in revelry 

Danced to the harp and lute. 

Ere long his eye beheld to him, 

Of woman's grace complete ; 
And soon perceived I that the two. 

Each face to face, did meet ; 
Enamored was he with her eye. 

She swayed him with her smile. 
That seemed in him to conquer will. 

And all his heart beguile. 

She willingly received his love. 

Returned each fond caress ; 
So willing in her ear oft heard 

Him whispered love confess ; 



78 A VISION OF SIN. 

She willing in his arms did yield 
To many a fond embrace ; 

Her smile drove sadness from his brow, 
As suns the shadows chase. 

I saw that by her seeming grace, 

His judgment was disarmed; 
That by the sweetness of her smile. 

To sleep was conscience charmed; 
His will was dead, volition fled, 

She to him all in all, 
He followed her ; where e'er she led. 

Obeyed each beck and call. 

Forever where she passed, I saw 
That there did rest his sight; 

He followed alway in her path. 
As day doth follow night ; 



A VISION OF SIN. 79 

Nor knew he of the charm there kirked 

Beneath those eyeUds deep, 
And he that follows her, at last 

But follows her to weep. 

He knew not the deceitfulness, 

The coyness of sin ; 
Or of the fair exterior, 

It sometimes hideth in; 
That in the rose is there a worm, 

A demon in the wine. 
And pain and death, where joy and life, 

Should mutual, intertwine. 

And as he gazed into those eyes. 

To him so void of harm, 
I saw full plain and deep within, 

A serpent's certain charm; 



8o A VISION OF SIN. 

His vision by that charm entranced, 
But innocence would know, 

Where, smouldering in those lustrous eyes, 
The fires of death burned low. 

And when he kissed those roseate lips, 

To him such bliss did bring, 
I saw within those ruddy lips, 

A serpent's fatal sting. 
He felt not then the poison flood 

The venomed fangs instilled, 
As pulsing tlirough and through his frame, 

The ri])pling rapture thrilled. 

A pleasure 't was at first indeed, 

Of most ecstatic kind; 
A happines of transient sort, 

Uncertain as the wind ; 



A VISION OF SIN. 

A poison that intoxicates, 

And seems to give at first 
A life of love ; but ends at last 

In being, most accursed. 

As too, he listed to her voice. 

That bade to that or this, 
I heard, though softly heard, yet plain, 

A serpent's deadly hiss ; 
And when he pressed her to his breast. 

To him whose all was charms. 
She to me looked a snaky fiend, 

A serpent in his arms. 

And as he slept in her embrace. 

That lightly him did hold, 
I saw secure his frame enwrapped, 

In many a scaly fold ; 



82 A VISION OF SIN. 

While in that breast, to him he thought 

Such fond love to impart, 
There beat, impelled by serpent blood, 

A serpent's cunning heart. 

And all the length of that long night, 

I noted all their ways; 
I saw their lives pass on, and on, 

As days succeeded days; 
I wondered why the snaky fiend 

To him possessed such grace; 
Why it could be he so was charmed, 

And with a serpent's face. 

Soon then there came to me a voice, 
That told me what it meant; 

Why thus it was that in her charms. 
His whole desire was pent; 



A VISION OF SIN. 

Why also 't was that where she passed, 
There too did rest his sight; 

And e'er he followed where she led, 
As day-break follows night. 

It told me why his fevered dreams, 

Reflected back her face; 
And why it was his soul was charmed 

With naught but serpent grace. 
" This form thou see'st, that seemeth fair 

To this youth's ravished sense, 
But which to thee an object is 

For loathing most intense, 

Is Sin, in person to his sight 

Involved in woman's grace; 
Because 't is his besetting fault, 

To worship woman's face. 



83 



84 A VISION OF SIN. 

Sin wears not only woman's form 
And woman's person fair, 

But unto each of Adam's sons 
A special shape doth wear. 

Sin clothes itself in various forms, 

That it may thus seem meet, 
To each, who, in his vicious course, 

Walks on with ready feet. 
And though a monster horrible. 

But to be shunned, abhorred. 
It so conceals its real self. 

That of his own accord, 

The victim follows it, where e'er 
The hollow joy may lead; 

While to the grave, and unto death, 
He sows prolific seed. 



A VISION OF SIN. 85 

To some, in wild ambition's hopes 

Lurks it, in every draught; 
And renders thirst more burning still, 

As every cup is quaffed. 

To some in wicked passions too. 

Without control that rage 
It is, and leads them at its will, 

Through each successive stage. 
Envy and malice, spite and hate. 

Its will all execute ; 
Each in its place, and at its time, 

Buds, blossoms, and bears fruit. 

And in the reddening wine, the wise 

In heart its form descry; 
And shunning it as if 't were death, 

With haste do pass it by: 



86 A VISION OF SIN. 

While in the greed, the lust for gain, 

And much of earthly gold, 
Full many sons of men their hope 

And peace, for aye have sold. 

But what may be the form it takes, 

Each one to tempt withal, 
To others 't is not as to him. 

Nor such to them its call ; 
But where the passions fiercest are. 

And uncontrolled desires 
Burst forth, and burn with greatest power 

In most unholy fires. 

So Sin adapts itself to each 

And every son of man, 
That it may lure him on to death. 

May place him 'neath its ban. 



A VISION OF SIN. 87 

To each, each other man's worst sin 

Seems of the vilest kind; 
Nor to describe it hath he words, 

No epithet can find, 

To make it to seem bad enough 

To his abhorring sense ; 
Or tell the hate, with which he hates 

So grave, and great offence. 
Disgusted is a sober pimp, 

To see a drunkard reel; 
A like contempt for such as he, 

Some other one will feel. 

But what may be the darling vice, 

A man's besetting sin. 
To him 't is more of virtue's sort. 

That special praise should win; 



A VISION OF SIN. 

To him, perhaps, 't is nobly good, 

A sinless pleasure 't is, 
In which is naught can be condemned. 

Or that unworthy is. 

To some it is within the bowl. 

That steals away the brain; 
To some it lies within the hate, 

That first was formed in Cain ; 
To some it lurks in heaps of gold. 

Or acres broad of land, 
And knows some special form to each, 

Who treads these shores of sand." 

I looked again, and still that life 

Passed in sucsessive days. 
I saw him follow where she led. 

In various hidden ways. 



A VISION OF SIN. 89 

A change there was, as years went by, 

Came slowly o'er his mien, 
And lines of pain and troubling fear, 

Upon his brow were seen. 

She led not now^ in pleasant ways. 

The pathways ever bright ; 
Yet ever followed he as do 

The shadows follow^ night; 
Now as he kissed again those lips. 

To him such bliss did bring, 
Begins in mortal pain to feel 

A serpent's fatal sting. 

Now as he listens to those tones 
That thrilled him once with bliss. 

He also hears in low cadence 
A serpent's deadly hiss ; 



90 A VISION OF SIN. 

Now as he presses to his breast 
What once was only charms, 

He sees a snaky sorceress, 
A serpent in his arms. 

As now he sleeps in her embrace, 

In troubled dreams beholds 
Himself, with every part encoiled 

In thousand scaly folds. 
For in that breast, that once he thought 

Such fond love to impart, 
He knows impelled by serpent blood, 

There beats a serpent's heart. 

He, loathing now her snaky form, 

And as she is, doth see; 
In helpless struggles cries in vain, 

And labors to be free ; 



A VISION OF SIN. 91 

She holds him with her serpent's eye, 

He follows where she goes, 
Down to the dreary Shades of Death, 

Down to the Vale of Woes. 

There disappearing from my view, 

Deep horror and despair, 
Upon that face in lines I trace. 

Are plainly pictured there; 
And through that frame the venomed sting, 

Its fatal poison sent, 
Distorteth every bodily part, 

And each fair lineament. 

Sin, Sin hath round him every fold 

In spiral writhings twined, 
Securing him henceforth for aye, 

Nor hope nor peace to find ; 



92 



A VISION OF SIN. 

While in his heart the venomed sting, 

Most deeply too is darted; 
Nor from her form nor out his heart, 

Shall fold or sting be parted. 

Again the voice that spake to me, 

Erst in my dream I heard. 
And bade me this consider well, 

And this its parting word; 
*' Behold what thou hast seen while here, 

Consider, fear to sin; 
Seek not to follow vice, though fair; 

Seek not its smile to win ; 

For though along thy path in youth, 

It Joy may seem to bring. 
Thou 'It know too late the painful truth, 

'T is armed with mortal sting. 



A VISION OF SIN. 93 

And though its form in youth may seem 

Fair also to thy sight, 
At last thou 'It know in woe and pain, 

'T will like a serpent bite. 

For Sin exceeding sinful is, 

In every form and guise ; 
And quickly snares unwary souls; 

And 'neath its smile there lies 
A sting of more than mortal pain, 

That death to death doth give, 
In suffering which a living death, 

A dying life, doth live. 

A way there is that seemeth good, 

Thereof death is the end ; 
A vice there is that virtue seems 

In it to comprehend ; 



94 A VISION OF SIN. 

A bad there is that seemeth good, 
A wrong that seemeth right; 

A way in Hfe that leads to death, 
In everlasting night. 

Take good heed then unto thy ways, 

Nor into folly go, 
For he that thus doth live his days, 

Will find eternal woe." 
Light here did usher in the day; 

The spell receding, broke; 
I saw not more the changing scenes, 

The voice no longer spoke. 







REVERIE. 

■r7TERNITY, Eternity,— 

How great must be the sin, 
To trifle with thy vast concerns, 

Endeavoring to win 
A treasure in these worldly joys, 

That is not ours to own ; 
And come at last to gather fruits. 

That thus our hands have sown. 

Eternity, Eternity, — 

How great must be the crime, 
To barter all thy gold away. 

For only dross of time; 
To sacrifice thy great concerns, 

To gratify desires 
That inward smoulder, inward burn, 

In most unholy fires. 



g6 REVERIE. 



Eternity, Eternity, — 

How dread, how dread the deed, 
To barter all thy richer fruits. 

On husks of time to feed; 
To feel the death that never dies, 

In one's own self begin; 
While ever gnawing at the heart, 

A canker eats within. 

Eternity, Eternity, — 

How dreadful is the work. 
To trifle all thy hope away. 

That in the heart may lurk, 
A love unholy in His sight. 

Who gives to man his days, 
That they in wisdom may be spent, 

Unto his Maker's praise. 



^^^i^ 



